How to separate politics from civics in Massachusetts schools

Tuesday

Massachusetts lawmakers are hopeful civics-based education will improve civic engagement among young people.

The challenge for administration, schools and teachers, however, will be whether they can check politics at the door when encouraging young people to participate in American democracy.

“The last thing we need in a school or district is to create something that seems partisan-based,” said Thomas Scott, executive director of the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents in Lexington.

Civics education, the study of the rights and duties of citizenship, was once an integral facet of American education. But it started disappearing from schools in the1960s, and the trend accelerated when more standardized testing was required under the No Child Left Behind Act, according to the National Education Association.

Two days after winning re-election, Gov. Charlie Baker signed a new law requiring public high schools and districts serving eighth-grade students to provide at least one student-led civics project for each student.

Before agreeing to sign it, however, the Republican governor sent it back to the state Legislature -- led by Democrats -- requesting that it include specific language that civics education be nonpartisan.

“We would never want students to feel forced to engage in student-led civic projects in the public sphere that advance positions contrary to their personal convictions,” Baker wrote to the Massachusetts Senate in August.

The nonpartisan language was added, but whether it is effective will largely depend on the compliance of those within the school system. In Massachusetts, most communities lean Democratic, but there are pockets of Republican-majority communities. The goal, according to Scott, will be for educators to keep their political views out of the classroom.

“For teachers, they’re going to have to leave their own personal interests behind,” Scott said. “Districts are going to have to be very sensitive to it.”

When asked about how educators would keep personal politics out of civics education, Principal Derek Smith of Hingham Middle School expressed confidence in his teachers’ abilities.

“Our teachers are professionals at every level and they understand that it’s not their job to say, ‘This is right or wrong,’ but to have thoughtful citizens at the end of the day,” Smith said.

The seaside town has already made civic engagement a part of its eighth-grade curriculum, dedicating an entire week to civics and sending more than 300 students to Washington, D.C. This year, the trip will include stops in historic Gettysburg and Philadelphia.

“We take trips to historical locations and talk about the significance of civic responsibility,” Smith said.

“That’s totally outside our realm,” he said. “Our teachers are so expert at framing lessons and prompts in a manner that is free of partisanship -- it’s just not even something that comes up.”

For teachers, there’s some optimism the civics-based learning could be effective if administered well.

“If properly administered, the new civics requirement can foster a robust exchange of ideas and help students discover their voices as citizens. We will work to ensure that this important work succeeds -- and that it does not become calcified in a meaningless system of high-stakes testing and constrictive regulations,” said Merrie Najimy, president of the Massachusetts Teachers Association.

Beyond partisan concerns about the process, there is little disagreement across party lines that civics is not well-understood among younger populations in the United States. The National Assessment of Educational Progress releases a report every four years looking at achievement levels related to civics education.

In 2014, 77 percent of U.S. eighth-graders fell below proficiency in civics. The 23 percent of students who performed at or above proficiency represented a 1 percentage point improvement from 1998.

And the numbers look worse when considering racial and ethnic divides. Forty percent of Asian and Pacific Islander eighth-graders performed at or above proficiency compared to 32 percent for white students, 11 percent for Hispanic students and 9 percent for black students, according to the report.

A poor understanding of civics at a young age can contribute to less civic engagement, which includes participating in community and voting in elections.

“Young people often have a hard time seeing the political process as relevant to them and are disengaged from it as a result. This law will help strengthen our democracy by educating a new generation of active citizens,” said Arielle Jennings, executive director of the civics education advocacy group Generation Citizens Massachusetts.

The disconnect among young voters is playing out in Massachusetts.

In 2016, 39.9 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds voted, according to the U.S. Census. To compare, 68.3 percent of 45- to 64-year-olds voted.

School districts will have a couple years to plan for the new requirements, which Scott says could play an important role in addressing some of these different issues.

“School districts will have to develop curriculum that doesn’t prevent kids from having different points of view, and they have to understand that all points of view are going to have to be considered and welcomed,” Scott said.

Eli Sherman is an investigative and in-depth reporter at Wicked Local and GateHouse Media. Email him at esherman@wickedlocal.com, or follow him on Twitter @Eli_Sherman.